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LIEUTENANT GOVERNR EBEN S. DRAPER 



IQVERNI 





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By John N. McClintock. 



In the year 1830, in the first issue of the Boston Transcript. Tra Draper 
of Milford advertised "temples" for weaving, of hi** own invention and 
manufacture, then on exhiliition in the store of John Lowell. He was the 
son of Major Abijah Draper of Dedham, who was a soldier in the Revolu- 
tionary war. and a descendant of James and Miriam (Stansfield) Draper, 
who came from Yorkshire. England, to Roxbury iiv 1647. The- immigrant 
was a skilled mechanic, familiar with weaving atul s]iinuing machinery : 
and the ancestral trade descended to his posterity. The modest business 
of Ira Draper llourished ; and in due time, hi^ sonj». Ehen D. and (jeorge. 
were associated with him. Uoth sons were closel\ identified with th.e 
Hopedale Community, which had been founded by Rev,. Adin Ballon, as 
a practical exemi)lification in every-day life nf tlu' principles of tin- Xew 
Testament. In 18.^2 the two sons succeeded to the business, and carried it 
on under the ausj)ices of the C'onnnunit}'. of which ' P^ben D. was then 
President. Five years later, the Community came to grief financial!}, and 
its properly was .sold. Relying upon the value of tlu- ■"tciiipK" and other 
inventions which George had patented, the l)ra}ur brothi-rs took tlu- fac- 
tory, agreeing to settle all the indebtedness. 

George Draper becaiue sole proprietor in 18^5. and took into partner- 
ship his son. Gen. William F. Draper, who had serveii with distinction in 
the war of the Rebellion. George A., a younger son, became a nieml>er of 
the firm in 1877, at the age of twenty-one. and in 1880. Fben Sumnei. tlfe 
youngest son, having just attained his majoritw became a partner. 

Thirty workmen were employed in 18)5; in 188^. the year of George 
Draper's death, five hundred were on the pay roll. The business has luade 
great advances, and a maximum of four thousand employees has since been 
reached. It was incorporated as the Draper Company in 18^-'7, (.ien. William 
F. Draper being President. George A.,/J>easurer. and Fben S.. agent. It 
is the largest manufacturing cstablisbfli-ent engaged in the production of 
cotton milling machinery in the Unittd ijtates. It ia affirmed by a 



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216 THE MASSACHUSETTS MAGAZINE 

competent authority that the machiiu-ry imrtxhicvd rind niaui' hy this 
compnny has effected a sa\'ing to the o<imnicrcial worhl nl iwo huiuh-cd 
and fifty milh'on dollars. * 

Though the Community failed financially, -its fine spirit has never heen 
lost. Ideal relations have always existed between the employed and their 
employers. The Corporation has provided convenient work rooms, 
equipped with the latest appliances for safety and comfort, and attractive* 
homes for its operatives, and has always dealt with them with consj^icuous 
fairness. It has accomplished, largely at its own expense, great public im- 
provements. A beautiful church, a memorial of their parents, has been 
erected by George A. and Bbcn S. Draper. The streets have been ma- 
cadamized, and concrete sidewalks built. Good water, gas and electric 
lights, an electric railwa}' and a sanitary sewage system have been intro- 
duced. Hopedale was the first town in Massachusetts to adopt the GJ(.iver 
system of sewage disposal by r.api<l filtration in 18'-H). A great ])ark of an 
Inuidred and fift}- acres an<l a pla\ ground of six acres are conspicuous 
features in this beauriful town. 

The junior partner in this great intlustry. after a long political career, 
is now the Republican candidate for Governor. VJ)eu Sumner Draper was 
born in Milford (Hopedale) June 17th. 1858. He began his school training 
in the public schools of his native town, and was prepared for business life 
in the Allen School. West Xewton, one of the best secondary schools in 
Massachusetts. He then completed a course in the department of engineer- 
ing, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and later began work in the 
Hopedale machine shops, where he- was thorougliK- trained in th.v? various 
details of the business. He obtained a practical knowledge of the work- 
ing of cotton machinery in the cotton mills of Lowell, Manchester and 
other ,New England mannfaeturing cities. Three vears of such training 
were an admirable ])reparaiion for his business career. He became interest- 
ed in politics and achieved his first notable success in 1802. wIkmi he was 
elected Chairman of the Republican State Committee. In 180), he was the 
Chairman of the Massachusetts delegation to the Republican National con- 
vention, and had charge of the canvass of the convention, which secured the 
adoption of the "gold standard" resolution. 

He headed the Massachusetts delegation to the Naslnille Exposition 
in 1897. and was the Republican Elector for the Eleventh- Massachusetts 
district in 1900. During the Spanish war he was President of the Massa- 
chusetts Volunteer Aid Association, and had a loading part in the purchase 
and equipment of the hospital ship, Bay State, at an expense of $200,000, 



LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR EBEN S. DRAPER 217 

.and in raising an equal sum for tlie care of Massachusetts soldiers and 
sailors. He served as President of the Repul.)lican Club of Massachusetts 
in 1Q03 and 1904. 

In 1905 Mr. Draper became the candidate of the Republican party for 
Lieutenant-Gox'ernor of Massachusetts. The workinic^men of Hopedale. 
when he was nominated, presented him wiili a signed address, wdiich read : 

"A few words from ihv emjiloyces of the Draper Com])iiii\- aljout lion. 
-^A f^w- woctls- kaiw- thcr cnrp-krrrsfrf t+rr- Dr^fHH' t'rTTrrptnrr ahn ti t Hoo , — • 
Eben S. Draper and the town of Hopedale. 

"Hon. Eben S. Draper is: 

"A man of large business abilit}' ; 

"A man of sterliug honesty ami integrity; 

"A man interested in philanthro])}-, and charity, and all measures which 
tend to improvement and advancement. 

"He is agent of the DrajX'r Com|>any oi Hopedale, Mass.. a company 
which is cons])icuous among' the em])lovers of laboring men on account of 
the care and attention gi\en to contlitions which ])revail at their works, 
among wdiich are ample and commodious shops ami workrooms for the 
empl<i\ees. up-to-date api)lianc<.'s for the use and safely of the men; stead}' 
and regular work so far as business conditions will i)ermit ; fair and honest 
treatment to all, which concHiious make Ht^pedale a desirable i)lace in 
which to work." 

He was elected in Xo\cnd)er. and was re-elected in I'^O > and again in 
1907. During the spring of 1*^08. owing to the enforced absence of Gov- 
ernor Guild from his official duties at the State House ^^i^ account of sick- 
ness, Lieutenant-Ciovernor Drajjcr v/as Acting-Go\ ernor of the State for 
many weeks, and brought to the olTice the achninistrative ability and 
judgment of men and affairs that had placed him at the head of a great 
corporation. Governor Guild could not have delegated his authorit}- an»l 
the direction of his administration to safer hamls. 

Apart from his busy political life, he has a li\ing interf<;t in a nni'ti- 
tude of aff'airs. He is a member of the Corporation of the Institute of Tech- 
nology, a meniber of the Board of Managers of the Milford Hospital, (a 
gift from his wife and himself to the town), and a trustee of the Peter 
Bent Brigham Hospital, and \'ice President of the American Unitarian 
Association. He served as Chairman of the Massachusetts Association 
for the relief of California. 

He is a Director of the National Shawmut Bank, the l'<>--ton and Al- 
bany Railroad, the Old Colony Trust Co., the Milfurd National Bank, and 



218 THE MASSACHUSETTS MAGAZINE 

various cotton mills and other industrial corporations. 'I"lu- Society of 
Colonial Wars, the Somerset^ Middlesex, Massachusetts-, \orfolk, Union, 
'Al,e^onquin, Exchange and Country Clubs, the Hope Club of Providence, 
and the Metropolitan Club of Xew York, include his name on their 
enrollments. ^ 

NotwithstandinjT this multiplicity of club memberships, and his diverse 
business and political affiliations. Lieut. ("lovcrnor Drapt-r is preeminently 
a.lover of his family and his home. He married. Xo\ember 21. 1883. 
Nancy Bristow, tlaughter of the late General Benjamin Helm Bristou. of 
■ New York, who was Secretary of the Treasury in Grant's administration 
and candidate for the Presidency in 187^. 

Their children are: Benjamin Helm I'ristow. born l'\l). 28. 188,^; 
Dorothy, born Nov. 22, 18*)0. and Eben Sumner. Jr.. born Auij. .^0. 18^'3. 
Mr. and Mrs. Draper are social and cheery, and the evening caller, 
dropping in. is likely to find the family group engaged in games, in which 
the children share. He enjoys lawn tennis, but golf is tlie sport in which 
he finds particular delight. All the conimonidace interests of the com- 
munity are shared bv him. and when Sunday comes, it In- is not in his 
pew in the l/nitarian church, the congregation knows that he is away 
from home. 

The legion of workmen in the Draper em])loy arc- his enthusiastic 
friends. During the recent commercial dei^ression, tin.- i)ra])er Company, 
in common with so many other corporations, was obliged to put many 
men on shorter hours, but the burden of a decreased wage was made 
lighter by the voluntary reduction of rents by one-half, while those 
whose hours of labor were still further reduced, found their weekly rent 
bill entirely cancelled. \o \v<jnder the workmen sa\ "Tlu- Drapers are 
good people to work for." 

Those who know the Lieut. Governor best, admire him for the 
straightforward honesty of his character, his good judgment, and for his 
kindly, genial nature. His business associates recognize his skill in ad- 
ministration, and- his high sense of honor. The citi^^ens of the Common- 
wealth have tried him and proved him, and will continue to trust \u him, 
whatever his political future may prove to be. 



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